Daily Journey - February 10

This great Passover event was not only a unique revelation regarding the price of redemption from bondage for Israel, but it was a special revelation pointing to the impotence of Egyptian idolatry. It is specifically stated in [chapter 12] verse 12 that these judgments were directed "against all the gods of Egypt," a fact easily observed from the very nature and progression of the plagues as recorded in the Book of Exodus. Since the death of the firstborn involved both man and beast, it is quite apparent that it had far-reaching religious and theological implications. The firstborn of Pharaoh was not only his successor to the throne, but by the act of the gods was a specially born son having divine property. Gods associated with the birth of children would certainly have been involved in a plague of this nature. These included Min, the god of procreation and reproduction, along with Isis who was the symbol of fecundity or the power to produce offspring. Since Hathor was not only a goddess of love but one of seven deities who attended the birth of children, she too would be im­plicated in the disaster of this plague. From excavations we al­ready have learned of the tremendous importance of the Apis bull, a firstborn animal and one revered in a very special sense. The death of this animal and other animals of like designation would have had a tremendous theological impact on temple at­tendants as well as the commoners who were capable of wit­nessing this tragic event. The death cry which was heard throughout Egypt was not only a wail that bemoaned the loss of a son or precious animals, but also the incapability of the many gods of Egypt to respond and protect them from such tragedy.

John J. Davis, Moses and the Gods of Egypt (Baker Book House, 1971), pp. 140-141